Ranker's Return

Chapter 904

Chapter 904

Hyeonu handed over the book containing the ran tribe’s secret arts to Tang-E and completely erased the memory of it from his mind. He really forgot, like someone who didn’t know about it in the first place. This wasn’t a very strange thing. Tang-E had too many helpers. Every Marionette Bear on Bung Bung Island had the ability to teach the secret arts to Tang-E. Hyeonu clearly remembered that Tang-E’s mother, Manong, was good at dealing with dark attribute magic power, while Tang-E’s father, Hugo, dealt with light attribute magic power.

However, there was one fact that Hyeonu had forgotten. He completely forgot about the complaints Tang-E had made to Hyeonu.

My father teaches me well, but my mother doesn’t.

He had forgotten Manong’s way of teaching.

The results were quickly revealed.

“Tang-E, why is your face so thin? Have you been starving these days? Huh? Shall we go eat meat?” Hyeonu asked while touching Tang-E’s fur. It was still Tang-E’s soft and glossy fur, but it was so dry that it was difficult to compare it to its usual state.

“Huh? No, Master dude. It is because I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’ve been eating meat well.”

Tang-E shook his head. It was hard, but he didn’t express it directly. The secret arts were obtained by Hyeonu in a difficult manner. He didn’t want to complain about it when he only had to learn it.

“You couldn’t sleep? Then go and sleep. It isn’t the time to do this here.”

Hyeonu grabbed Tang-E by the back of the neck and left the battlefield.

‘Health comes first.’

Taking a day off from hunting wasn’t too difficult. Tang-E’s condition was much more important than that.

“Now, let’s talk about it properly. Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

Hyeonu arrived at a mountain so far away that the sounds of the battlefield couldn’t be heard and made eye contact with Tang-E. Tang-E couldn’t make eye contact with Hyeonu and lowered his head. Hyeonu placed Tang-E on his lap and carefully raised Tang-E’s head.

“What’s wrong?” Hyeonu made eye contact with Tang-E and asked again.

“It is nothing much, Master dude. It is just that I couldn’t sleep,” Tang-E repeated what he had said earlier.

“What are you doing at night that you can’t sleep? Do you have any concerns?” Hyeonu asked for Tang-E’s answer again.

“I have no worries, Master dude.” Tang-E shook his head.

“Then what’s wrong?”

Tang-E heard Hyeonu’s words and murmured something. It was just that the volume was too small to be heard by Hyeonu.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Tang-E replied in a barely audible whisper, “I can’t sleep because I am learning from my mother, Master dude.”

“From Manong? Then why can’t you sleep? What makes it so hard to learn?”

Hyeonu cocked his head. He couldn’t imagine a scene where Manong taught Tang-E something that made him unable to sleep. Wasn’t it known that teaching was about coaxing and soothing?

“Learning what? I’m learning what Master dude gave me. Stupid Master dude.”

Tang-E’s expression distorted as he looked at Hyeonu, who couldn’t even properly remember the secret arts he had given.

“Ah...! The secret arts?”

Hyeonu smacked his forehead. Now he remembered. The secret arts he took from Edward like he was robbing this person.

“So why did you have to stay up all night?”

Hyeonu didn’t know how Tang-E learned the secret arts.

‘It wasn’t that hard for me...’

His skills had been taught by Duke Blake, but it wasn’t that difficult at the time. He might’ve felt that way even more because Hyeonu had a strong ability to deal with magic power due to the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.

“It is all because of my mother. If it wasn’t my mother... this wouldn’t have happened...”

Tang-E had tears in his eyes.

“Tell me the details. What happened?”

Hyeonu hugged Tang-E and started to soothe him.

“At first, I wanted to learn the secret arts from my father.” Tang-E tearfully explained the whole story. It was about the tragedy that happened to Tang-E over the past few days.

“Then?”

“My mother intervened. She took away the book with the secret arts. She said that since it is about using dark magic power...”

“So?”

“I couldn’t sleep... she couldn’t teach me properly.”

“You’ve suffered. Oh my.”

Hyeonu cajoled and comforted Tang-E. He didn’t know what troubles Tang-E went through, but he showed an understanding attitude and tone.

“Should I talk to Manong? I can tell her not to bother you at night.”

Tang-E shook his head. He had to work hard. He was sure he heard it clearly.

‘He said it is hard to find anywhere...’

Tang-E had to repay Hyeonu for obtaining such a thing. This was all he could do.

“It isn’t like that. It is okay, Master dude.”

Hyeonu also shook his head.

“It isn’t urgent. You don’t have to overdo it, Tang-E. For me, you are number one.”

Hyeonu pulled Tang-E into his arms and hugged him a bit harder. Then he carefully stroked Tang-E’s head.

‘It looks like it will take a long time... I should go to Bung Bung Island.’

He had to go once anyway. He also wanted to see Bung Bung Island and meet Hugo and Manong. It was for business and pleasure and he was going to talk about Tang-E.

‘Let’s kill Luke and go.’’

The date was set. 14 days later. That was the day he would visit Bung Bung Island.

“Tang-E, shall I go to Bung Bung Island in two weeks?”

Tang-E raised his head and looked at Hyeonu with shining eyes when he heard these words. “Okay, Master dude. Let’s go to Bung Bung Island.”

***

Hyeonu and Tang-E returned to the battlefield after a day of rest and stood out more than before. Tang-E no longer stood on the battlefield in human form. He swept through the battlefield in the form of a small bear. He used magic of all types of attributes.

“Isn’t that Tang-E over there?”

“Wow... He is really strong.”

“I think he is stronger than us?”

“Of course. His level must be higher than ours.”

People who had classes that were relatively less focused on combat, like magicians or priests, were busy expressing their admiration for what Tang-E showed.

“By the way, how does Tang-E use so many attributes? I think it is around five or six now?”

“Still, it is okay.”

“There is no need to choose the hunting grounds? Isn’t that dark attribute magic? Isn’t this just crazy?”

Tang-E’s magic that they saw was a wonder in itself. The most surprising thing was that the magic of various attributes was all strong. There was nothing lacking. If any magic was properly cast, then the members of the god tribe or the divine creatures would disappear.

‘He is good at fighting.’

Hyeonu was watching Tang-E’s performance from a distance with a happy smile.

Just then, Jeras spoke to Hyeonu, “The plan was successful.”

As usual, the two of them were far from the scene of the battle between Luke and Raccoon. They were now used to having conversations like this.

“Did you receive all the secret arts?” Hyeonu asked while shaking the spear slightly.

“Yes.” Jeras nodded. The secret arts were all inherited. They couldn’t be used right away, but they were all in his head.

‘I’m glad.’

“There will be no delay.”

Hyeonu smiled. In fact, the plan would’ve had to be postponed if Jeras couldn’t receive the secret arts. It was because Jeras would do everything he could to interfere with the work.

“I have a question...” Hyeonu’s words trailed off. He seemed really curious about something.

“The ran tribe and ra tribe. Can the secret arts of the two tribes be learned step by step?”

Hyeonu’s curiosity was about the secret arts. He wanted to know whether Tang-E’s learning would end in one shot, or if there was room to progress.

“Step by step? I don’t know what you want to say. Does magic have shortcuts? Does swordsmanship? What about spearsmanship?”

Jeras frowned and extended his spear.

“What about after receiving the secret arts? If you lay the foundation, will you naturally move onto the next process?” Hyeonu asked another question while naturally deflecting Jeras’ spear.

“It is possible for some geniuses to progress on their own. Everyone else is in the same state. We need a guide to lead us on the set path.”

“Isn’t that usually the role of a teacher?”

“Teacher? There is no one with the ability to be called that. It is the same with me. All of them were similar except for Luke, who had the ability to continue to improve his secret arts. If there is a difference, it comes from the difference between hard work and a very small talent.”

Luke played a big role in this influence. Luke was one of the greatest geniuses, not only in the ra tribe, but also in the entire continent at the time. It was Luke who continued to improve the secret arts over time. The others came to a level where they just had to learn it.

‘Then Tang-E has plenty of potential for development.’

Hyeonu smiled at Jeras’ words. The reason why Jeras and the other members of the ra tribe couldn’t touch the secret arts was because they didn’t have the ability to improve it more than Luke had done. Meanwhile, Tang-E was different. Tang-E had only learned the basics. It was entirely up to Tang-E to decide what to build up on top of that and in what form.

‘There are many good teachers.’

Tang-E’s parents, Hugo and Manong, were great powerhouses. Additionally, Raccoon wasn’t inferior to anyone when it came to dealing with magic power.

‘Furthermore, the best teacher is there...’

A handsome man with purple hair popped up in Hyeonu’s mind: Callioraks—the only dragon in the demon world and now the one who practically dominated the demon world. Callioraks had a strange liking toward Tang-E. It was clear that he was superior to anyone else in the field of magic.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The secret arts. I’m asking if you are going to reveal them to the other tribe members.”

“I have to reveal them. Of course, it is only for those who follow me.”

The secret arts that Luke gave to Jeras were more than he could’ve imagined. There were more hidden parts than was currently known to the tribe. He intended to release it to a certain extent. This way, he could easily fill in Luke’s gaps.

“It is a good choice.”

Hyeonu smiled and nodded. It was clear that Jeras’ method was both efficient and effective.

‘If players are used as an example... it is like handing out skill books and items...’

Their level would rise in comparison to those who were stagnant. It was a crazy temptation.

“Do you know why I completely ruled out the possibility that you wouldn’t do my request?”

“Who knows? Reckless confidence...?”

This was something that Jeras was also curious about. What did this person believe in to tell Jeras about the plan?

“It isn’t like that. I believe in my strong background. I know at least five people who are similar or stronger than Luke. They are those you haven’t seen.”

“Nonsense! There can’t be so many strong people in the middle world,” Jeras shouted like it was ridiculous when he heard Hyeonu’s words. The corners of Hyeonu’s lips curled up.

‘Callioraks is certain... the rest will be roughly the same.’

Callioraks was the only one who would definitely be stronger than Luke. Meanwhile, the rest were also strong and they were at least above Lebron. This meant that even if two of them joined together, they could beat Luke.

“Do you see that bear over there? Do you know what species he is?”

Hyeonu reached out and pointed to Tang-E, who was releasing colorful flames.

“A Marionette Bear...”

The correct answer came from Jeras’ mouth. There was no way he couldn’t know. The Marionette Bears weren’t just a species. They were a mysterious species even when the ra tribe were living in the middle world.

“His parents lead the Marionette Bears. They are as strong as that orc fighting over there. Their love for their one and only child is amazing. If I go somewhere and say he got hit, they might run wild.”

Hyeonu smiled widely. It was because he remembered the magic that was similar to a natural disaster that Hugo had shown in the past.

“So... I’m telling you that it is better to throw away useless thoughts.”

Hyeonu didn’t believe in Jeras. Not in the slightest. Therefore, he didn’t hesitate to make such threats.

“I will say it once again. I don’t trust you at all.”